Colts Surviving Brutal Stretch Hinges On QB Situation

On paper, the Indianapolis Colts have a pretty good roster.

The skill positions on offense are relatively deep after adding tight end Tyler Warren and a couple of pieces behind Jonathan Taylor in the backfield this offseason. The offensive line lost two starters, but they'll be replaced with a pair of second-year players. Defensively, new coordinator Lou Anarumo is expected to be much more exotic and aggressive, and has a revamped secondary to work with.

However, regardless of how good the majority of the roster plays, everything hinges on the quarterback position.

The Colts will trot Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones out on the practice field to compete for the QB1 spot throughout the offseason. Both players have shown signs of being franchise players, but both were also benched for their poor play last year.

Will one of them rise to the occasion and either bring consistency and/or reliable explosion to the offense? They better if the Colts hope to survive the toughest stretches of their schedule.

John Breech of CBS Sports recently identified one bad thing about each team's schedule, and he found a potentially "ugly" four-week stretch for the Colts later on the calendar.

"The Colts better enjoy their trip to Germany and the bye that comes after it in Week 11, because things could get ugly after that," Breech wrote. "Coming out of their bye, Indy will play three of four games on the road and three of four games against teams that won at least 10 games last year (Chiefs, Texans, Seahawks). If the Colts' QB situation isn't better this year than it was last year, it's hard to imagine them winning those big games."

The Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 actually isn't the start of the tough stretch for the Colts. They're on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, and while Pittsburgh has arguably the worst quarterback situation in the league, they did make the playoffs last year. It also begins a streak of the Colts being away from Lucas Oil Stadium for more than a month.

After the Steelers, the Colts "host" the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin, Germany, in Week 10, and then have their bye in Week 11.

The Colts are then at Arrowhead against the Chiefs in Week 12. As if facing a team that's been in the Super Bowl five times in the last six years isn't difficult enough, it's probable that two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes is aware he's never beaten the Colts in the regular season.

The Houston Texans are always a hard-fought battle for the Colts. While Houston did sweep Indy last year, their matchups are almost always decided by one score.

The Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14 are the team that's considered the "break" in this stretch against 10-win teams, but how good can the Colts feel about this matchup? After Jacksonville got Trevor Lawrence back from injury, and added Travis Hunter and Bhayshul Tuten this offseason, they're far from an easy out. Oh yeah, the Colts also haven't beaten the Jaguars on the road since 2014 in Andrew Luck's third NFL season.

A very interesting matchup ends this stretch for the Colts as they head out to the West Coast for the third time in the season to visit the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. This is a transformative season for Seattle as they usher in the era of Sam Darnold at quarterback. They also no longer have D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at receiver, as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp take the reins. Mike Macdonald's squad should be a tough test, week in and week out.

The Colts' season kicks off in Week 1 at home against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 7 at 1:00 p.m. E.T.

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